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THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

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All set for kabaddi cup opening ceremony
Bathinda, November 30
The third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup is all set to begin tomorrow with a rocking performance by Bollywood heart-throb Akshay Kumar amidst much fanfare, fireworks and music.
The brightly lit stage at the sports stadium where the inaugural ceremony of the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup will take place today.
The brightly lit stage at the sports stadium where the inaugural ceremony of the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup will take place today. Tribune photos: Pawan Sharma

Traffic routes diverted
Bathinda, November 30
Traffic routes have been diverted in the city in view of the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup. The city bus service too has been pressed into service to help the spectators reach the multipurpose stadium.


EARLIER STORIES

A board outside Guru Harkishan Public School, located opposite the stadium, the venue of the inaugural ceremony, announcing holidays on account of the kabaddi cup. Teams arrive to take part in opening ceremony
Bathinda, November 30
To participate in the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup, 12 men's and three women's teams arrived today. Three more teams would arrive by tomorrow morning.


A board outside Guru Harkishan Public School, located opposite the stadium, the venue of the inaugural ceremony, announcing holidays on account of the kabaddi cup. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

world aids day today
Volunteers rope in target groups to create AIDS awareness
Bathinda, November 30
The male and female sex workers in the city have found a confidant in the volunteers of the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) who work with them on promoting safe sex practices.

1490 HIV positive patients in district
Bathinda, November 30
Bathinda is among the seven districts where anti-retroviral drug (ART) centres are being run. The other cities where the ART centres are located are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Ferozepur.

State-level science exhibition begins
Bathinda, November 30
The 41st state-level science exhibition started at Baba Farid Group of Institutions (BFGI) today. Students from 22 districts of the state registered for the fair today. The four-day exhibition is being organized under the aegis of the State Institute of Science Education (SISE), Punjab.

(Left) Student register for the state-level science fair that started at Baba Farid Institute, Deon, on Friday; children take their model for display at the science exhibition.

(Left) Student register for the state-level science fair that started at Baba Farid Institute, Deon, on Friday; children take their model for display at the science exhibition. Tribune photographs

Medal winning students of Silver Oak along with the director Malvinder K. Sidhu, principal Neelam Verma and sports teachers Amandeep Singh and Iqbal Singh. Silver Oaks students bag five gold medals in athletics
Bathinda, November 30
The students of Silver Oaks School, Bathinda, participated in the district-level athletics meet. The students brought laurels to the school by winning in various competitions in different categories.


Medal winning students of Silver Oak along with the director Malvinder K. Sidhu, principal Neelam Verma and sports teachers Amandeep Singh and Iqbal Singh. A Tribune photograph

The sewing centre will cater to 50 villages in the region. Sewing centre set up to empower women
Bathinda, November 30
The NGO District Yuva Vikas Sangathan and Usha International have started a block-level sewing centre at the Tatvadhan Community Centre.


The sewing centre will cater to 50 villages in the region.

Discourse underlines role of meditation
Bathinda, November 30
Vishwas Foundation, a religious organization, held a meditation discourse near Dr Mela Ram Hospital today.

An artist explains his work at the art festival organised by the Sobha Singh Memorial Chittarkar Society that began at Teachers' Home in the city on Thursday.
An artist explains his work at the art festival organised by the Sobha Singh Memorial Chittarkar Society that began at Teachers' Home in the city on Thursday. Photo: Bhupinder Dhillon

City doctor invited to chair scientific sessions
Bathinda, November 30
Dr Vitull K Gupta, consultant, Kishori Ram Hospital and Assistant Professor, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), has been invited as a faculty to chair important sessions, to present a guest lecture and contribute a chapter for the prestigious Cardiology Update 2012 at the 64th Annual Cardiological Society of India Conference and SAARC Cardiac Congress.

Two injured in different mishaps
Bathinda, November 30
Two people were injured in different accidents. Kulwinder Kaur, a resident of GGS Nagar, lodged a complaint with the Thermal police stating that at 5:30 pm, when she was returning with her husband to her house, an Indigo car hit their motorcycle.





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All set for kabaddi cup opening ceremony
City turns into fortress for today’s event; Akshay Kumar, Asin and Miss Pooja to add zing and glitz to sporting event
Tribune News Service

Police personnel have been deployed in strength at the stadium for security.
Police personnel have been deployed in strength at the stadium for security. Tribune photos: Pawan Sharma

Bathinda, November 30
The third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup is all set to begin tomorrow with a rocking performance by Bollywood heart-throb Akshay Kumar amidst much fanfare, fireworks and music.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal today reviewed the arrangements at the multipurpose stadium where the inaugural ceremony will be held.

President of the Punjab Kabaddi Association Sikandar Singh Maluka and chief parliamentary secretary Sarup Chand Singla were also present on the occasion.

Speaking to media persons, Sukhbir Badal said all arrangements for the gala event have been finalised. He said 23 teams from 18 countries across six continents are participating in the third edition of the kabaddi cup. He added that sports will be introduced as mandatory subject in the state-run schools.

Sukhbir said an increase has been registered in the number of teams participating in the kabaddi cup.

The number of teams has risen from four last year to seven this year. For the Indian women's team, 250 players had participated in the trials.

To ensure that the event is held drug-free, the state government has collaborated with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) that will conduct the dope tests of players. NADA will get the samples tested from certified laboratories.

Those found guilty will face a ban on playing and the cash prize given to them will also be deducted. The organizing committee has allocated Rs 40 lakh as reserve funds for the dope tests.

Sukhbir Badal added that for the first time in the men's category, teams from Kenya, Denmark, Sierra Leone, New Zealand and Scotland will be participating. Similarly, in the women's category, teams from Canada, Denmark and Malaysia are taking part for the first time.

The teams in the men's category have been divided into four pools. Pool A consists of India, England, Afghanistan and Denmark. Pool B has Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Norway. Pool C has Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Scotland and Italy while pool D has teams from Argentina, America, Iran and Kenya.

Similarly, in the women's category, pool A consists of India, Canada and Denmark while pool B consists of England, Turkmenistan, America and Malaysia.

The winning team in the men's category will carry home a cash prize of Rs 2 crores. The prize money for the women's section has been doubled. In the men's category, the second and third teams will be awarded Rs 1 crore and Rs 51,000, respectively.

Similarly, in the women's category, the champion team would be awarded Rs 51 lakh as cash prize. The second and third position holders will be awarded Rs 31 lakh and Rs 21 lakh, respectively. Besides, the best raider and the best stopper will be awarded a tractor each as prize.

Bathinda will host the semi-final matches too while the league matches in the women's and men's category will be held at Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Doda (Muktsar), Sangrur, Ropar, Chohla Sahib (Tarn Taran), Fazilka, Gurdaspur and Mansa. The matches to decide the third and fourth place holders in both men's and women's category will be held at Jalandhar. The women's final will be held at Jalandhar. The closing ceremony and the final match will be held on December 15 at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana.

Akshay, Asin to perform at inaugural ceremony

Bollywood actor Akshya Kumar and actress Asin will perform at the inaugural ceremony with magnum laser show.

Apart from the Bollywood actors, Stereo Nation group, Miss Pooja and Satinder Satti will also perform.

The chief guest on the occasion will be Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal. All the 23 participating teams will take part in the march past.

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Traffic routes diverted
Tribune News Service

SSP Ravcharan Singh Brar explains the traffic diversion on Friday.
SSP Ravcharan Singh Brar explains the traffic diversion on Friday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Bathinda, November 30
Traffic routes have been diverted in the city in view of the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup. The city bus service too has been pressed into service to help the spectators reach the multipurpose stadium.

SSP Bathinda Ravcharan Singh Brar said no truck or other heavy vehicle would be allowed to enter the city on December 1.

A special route has been earmarked for the VVIPs. The roads entering the city from Gidderbaha and Goniana have been marked for the entry of VVIP vehicles.

The road leading from Rose Garden to Barnala bypass and then turning right from Guru Gobind Singh Nagar towards Bhatti Road, 80 feet road and from Valmiki Chowk to Chhabra Palace reaching the stadium has been marked as the VVIP route.

From Barnala side, the VVIP traffic will be diverted from Bibiwala Chowk to street number 10 of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, Bhatti Road and from Chhabra Palace towards the stadium.

The VVIP traffic moving from Mansa-Dabwali side will enter from Valmiki Chowk, move towards Government Rajindra College, then towards Circuit House, 100 feet road and from the ICICI Bank towards the stadium.

For the common man, the entry points are from Gidderbaha and Goniana road. Starting from Rose Garden, the traffic would move towards the Improvement Trust office on Goniana road from where the city buses would be specially ply to drop kabaddi lovers at the stadium. Traffic from the Mansa-Dabwali side will come towards the Police Lines and will then be diverted from Valmiki Chowk towards St. Joseph's School, Ghode Wala Chowk and from Jujhar Singh Nagar towards the stadium.

Parking space earmarked

Special parking lots have been earmarked for the event. Vehicles of ministers, chief parliamentary secretaries, police and civil officials will be parked at Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School. The vehicles of other guests would be parked at the site of the truck union.

People can park their vehicles at Rose Garden, Improvement Trust officer and SCF market, Goniana Road. Vehicle moving near Bibiwala Chowk can be parked near North Estate and the DAV College grounds. Traffic moving on Mansa-Dabwali road can avail of the parking facility in Model Town phase III.

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Teams arrive to take part in opening ceremony
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30
To participate in the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup, 12 men's and three women's teams arrived today. Three more teams would arrive by tomorrow morning.

A spokesman of the state government said teams in the men's section like England, Afghanistan, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, India, Scotland, Italy, Iran, Kenya and the US have arrived in Punjab.

The women's teams from India, England and Malaysia also arrived today. The teams scheduled to arrive tomorrow include Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Argentina.

IOC wishes success to Kabaddi World Cup
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has sent its felicitations to the Punjab Government for the success of the World Kabaddi Cup-2012. Sikander Singh Maluka, president, Punjab Kabaddi Association, said kabaddi is fast marching forward for a berth in the Olympics. He said the Punjab Government has received greetings from the IOC for the success of the Kabaddi World Cup-2012.

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world aids day today
Volunteers rope in target groups to create AIDS awareness
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30
The male and female sex workers in the city have found a confidant in the volunteers of the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) who work with them on promoting safe sex practices.

For the last six years, the volunteers and peer educators associated with the ACF have been making the female sex workers (FSW) and men having sex with men (MSM) aware of the importance of knowing their HIV status and promoting safe sex practices.

"We have around 1000 female FSWs and 200 MSM in our network. All of them regularly receive counselling for encouraging their sexual partners to indulge in protected sex," says Tanu Aggarwal, programme manager for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, ACF.

Besides the sex workers, the ACF also works with 250 injectible drug users who are encouraged to use a new needle every time they prick themselves as well as dissuade needle sharing, which is known to cause HIV and Hepatitis C.

The workers under the programme have overcome the uphill task of convincing their target group.

"It was not an easy task to identify sex workers and meet them. Initially, we were thrown out of the houses of these workers when we went to meet them. Women workers especially were hard to convince as at any given point of time, sex is a taboo subject in our society," revealed one of the volunteers who preferred to remain anonymous.

Over the years, pimps and the elder female sex workers have offered to volunteer as peer educators for which they are being paid Rs 1,500 per month. There are more than 20 such peer educators working in the city.

"Peer educators help us unfold the secretive attitude of the sex workers by opening the communication channels," added Tanu.

The basic aim is to create awareness, offer individual counselling home to home and distribute condoms free of cost that the Punjab State AIDS Control Society (PSACS) provides to the ACF and other 47 such NGOs working in the state on similar projects. Once contacted, the target population is also convinced to undergo tests for sexually transmitted infection (STI).

"Most female sex workers find it difficult to report for STI testing as seen outside the STI testing centre also means less business for them," added another volunteer.

Besides, ACF volunteers also identify the injectible drug users and provide them with new needles.

"We have created two centres in the city where fresh needles are available. The identified IV drugs users report to us, make entries, pick fresh needles and go away. If an addict does not turn up, he is traced back to his home to know if he has been using shared needles. It is a cumbersome task as the addicts are introvert and are often aggressive," added another volunteer.

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1490 HIV positive patients in district

Bathinda, November 30
Bathinda is among the seven districts where anti-retroviral drug (ART) centres are being run. The other cities where the ART centres are located are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Ferozepur.

Bathinda district has 1490 HIV positive patients. Dr Kasturi Lal, in-charge, ART centre, Bathinda, said 966 HIV positive patients are on ART drugs. These include 59 pregnant women, 47 male children, 34 female children, 830 men and 577 women.— TNS

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State-level science exhibition begins
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30
The 41st state-level science exhibition started at Baba Farid Group of Institutions (BFGI) today. Students from 22 districts of the state registered for the fair today. The four-day exhibition is being organized under the aegis of the State Institute of Science Education (SISE), Punjab.

Deputy Director, SISE, Punjab, Jagtar Singh Kularia and District Education Officer (Secondary) Hardeep Singh Taggar today supervised the exhibition. They said the winning teams of all the district-level science fairs have assembled here to display their winning models. According to these officials, besides the science models, competitions in slogan writing and teaching-learning aids would also be held.

District Science Supervisor (DSS) Jarnail Singh said 269 students and 288 students have been registered today for various events. He said the main theme of the exhibition was "Science and Society". The main theme had been sub-divided into six sub-themes - industry, natural resources and their conservation, transport and communication, information and education technology, community health and environment and mathematical modelling.

The DSS said that to encourage the teachers to make the teaching of science more interactive and interesting, a competition to develop and use teaching-learning-material would also be held.

Assistant DSS Mohinderpal Singh, the local in-charge of the exhibition said in addition to the registration of teams, three lectures on mathematics were held today.

The first lecture was delivered by Balwinder Singh Brar, a lecturer in maths at Baba Farid College of Engineering and Technology (BFCET) which dealt with creating interest in the teaching of mathematics.

The second lecture was also delivered by a maths teacher from Government Girls Secondary School, Samrala, Ludhiana, Avtar Singh, who listed innovative practices in the teaching of this subject.

The third lecture by Khushpreet Kaur of the department of applied sciences, BFCET, highlighted the importance of mathematics in society and the use of latest technology in its teaching.

Mohinderpal added that arrangements for the stay of students and teachers had been made at nine schools in the city and they were being provided with transportation and all other facilities.

He said that on Saturday, the additional state project director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Authority, Punjab, Parampal Kaur Maluka, would formally inaugurate the exhibition and on December 3, Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka would be the chief guest at the function and would distribute prizes to the winners.

DEO (Elementary) Harkanwal Jeet Kaur and Deputy DEO (Secondary) Amarjeet Kaur played a key role in making the arrangements. The schools have been directed to take their students to the exhibition on December 1 and December 3.

Arrangements for the exhibition have been made with the help of Baba Farid Group of Institutions. 

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Silver Oaks students bag five gold medals in athletics
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30
The students of Silver Oaks School, Bathinda, participated in the district-level athletics meet. The students brought laurels to the school by winning in various competitions in different categories.

In the under-14 category, Kirandeep Kaur bagged the third position in long jump and the second position in 100 meter and 200 meter race. Jobanreet Kaur bagged the first position in 100 meter and 200 meter race. Navdeep Buttar bagged the third position in 100 meter race.

Sanchita Biswas bagged the third position in shot-put while Harwinder Singh bagged the first position in high jump.

In the under-17 category also, the Silverians triumphed. Lavisha Goyal and Sukhmeen Kaur bagged the third and second positions in walk race, respectively.

Gurkesh Mann and Tanbeer Kaur bagged the second position in long jump and shot-put, respectively. Jithin Krishnan bagged the first position in high jump.

Overall, the school bagged 5 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 4 bronze medals. A total of seven students were selected for the state-level competition.

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Sewing centre set up to empower women

Bathinda, November 30
The NGO District Yuva Vikas Sangathan and Usha International have started a block-level sewing centre at the Tatvadhan Community Centre.

The centre will cater to 50 villages of Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot and Abohar. One woman from every ten villages would be made master trainer. — TNS

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Discourse underlines role of meditation
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30
Vishwas Foundation, a religious organization, held a meditation discourse near Dr Mela Ram Hospital today.

Swami Vishwas held a discourse on meditation and its importance.

Speaking on the occasion, he said negativity originates from within the heart and the heart thrives on this only.

He said without meditation, the heart will continue to be in a negative state. Meditation also helps human beings in empowering their thoughts and heart and to stay positive. Only a positive sttae of mind leads to the opening of windows of opportunity and also chisels one’s inter-personal relationships.

He added that meditation was above the realms of heart and its thought process. "Meditation increases positive energy and gives harmony and confidence," he said.

Followers of the sect from Ludhiana, Delhi, Chandigarh and other areas had come to attend the function held today. 

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City doctor invited to chair scientific sessions
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30
Dr Vitull K Gupta, consultant, Kishori Ram Hospital and Assistant Professor, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), has been invited as a faculty to chair important sessions, to present a guest lecture and contribute a chapter for the prestigious Cardiology Update 2012 at the 64th Annual Cardiological Society of India Conference and SAARC Cardiac Congress.

Dr P Deb, chairman, scientific committee, 64th Annual Cardiological Society of India Conference and SAARC Cardiac Congress, has invited Dr Vitull. His two research papers have been accepted for presentation at the conference.

He will deliver a guest lecture on the topic of "Vitamin D - should we speak louder to be heard?" He has also been invited to contribute a chapter in "Is India Getting Fatter: Urban/ Rural Divide" for the book on Cardiology Update 2012.

Dr Vitull has been invited to chair a symposium on a mixed platter of cardiology, co-chaired by renowned cardiologists of the country like the member, Board of Governors, Medical Council of India, Dr HS Rissam, Dr KC Goswami from Delhi and the director, cardiology, Fortis, Mohali, Dr HK Bali.

In the second session, Dr Vitull will chair a guest lecture on "Atrial fibrillation and heart failure” by Dr Praksh C. Deedwania from the US. 

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Two injured in different mishaps
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30
Two people were injured in different accidents. Kulwinder Kaur, a resident of GGS Nagar, lodged a complaint with the Thermal police stating that at 5:30 pm, when she was returning with her husband to her house, an Indigo car hit their motorcycle.

Kulwinder Kaur and her husband Amrik Singh were injured in the accident. Police have registered a case against Kuljit Singh, a resident of GGS Nagar.

In another incident, a resident of Ludhiana complained to the Kotfatta police that an unknown vehicle hit him near Gurudwara Sahib Katar Singh Wala, thereby injuring him.

The complainant, Shankar Bihari, a resident of Sherpur Mandi, Ludhiana, was injured in the accident.

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